Safety-envelop



1.1. MENDENHALI..

SAFETY ENVELOP.

APPLICATION men AUG.16. 1916.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Iw-LVET-LTCIT' JmIu-L J. Mendenhall ELE H15 RTmr'r-LE JOHN J. MENDENHALL, OF CLEARWATER, FLORIDA.

SAFETY-ENVELOP.

Application filed August 16, 1916.

Be it known that l, Jol-IN J. MENDEN- HALL, a citizen of the United States, and a` resident of Clearwater, in the county of Pinellas and lState of Florida, have invented a new and useful mprovement in SafetylCnvelops, of which the following is a specilic/ation.

My present invention relates to envelope which are scaled by adhesives carried by flaps, which, prior to sealing of the envelop may be swung about their connection with the main bodies to facilitate the placing of material therein.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide envelops which cannot be opened and resealed without detection, by making available envelops which may be used for cfmveying matter of importance without danger of inspection or extraction of contents by an unauthorized person in the conveying of the sealed envelop with contents from a giver to an authorized receiver; and, to provide envelops which may be quickly opened by the receiver without the use of a tool, such as a knife, and without danger' of injuring the contents.

Another object of my invention is to provide envelops which may be die-stamped and which need embody no more material than envelops now in common use, renden ing the same inexpensive to manufacture.

Further objects of my invention will appear in the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, and in which drawing:

Figure l is a rear elevation of an envelop embodying` my invention, the back flap being shown lying in the same plane as the front of the envelop.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing the envelop after having been sealed and opened.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the envelop closed.

Fig. 4c is an enlarged sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, the envelop being shown arcuated transversely.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of adjacent end portions of flaps of the rear ot' the back.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention in an envelop it includes a front A, lower flap B, side flaps C and D, and a top flap, E, the flaps B, C and D forming a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 3, 1952).

serial No. 115.295.

main body portion of the back, and the flap ll capable of being swung with respect to the front A to facilitate the placing of material within the envelop.

ln order to prevent an unauthorized person from opening the envelop, once it is sealed, and reseal the same without detection, the Hap E is provided with an adhesive (i at its face to overlie the main body portion of the back of the envelop, said adhesive extending inwardly from the free margins T and S of the flap E, in the usual manner, however.l that portion of the main body of the back mincealed b v that portion of the flap li carrying the adhesive, is provided with a series of cuts E) extending crosswise the general line of the series of cuts. It is preferred to provide the cuts 9 so that when the envelop is sealed they will be closely adjacent the free margins 'T and 8 of the flap E, and in the example shown, these cuts are provided in the fiaps and D of the back of the envelop.

Should an attempt be made to open the envelop as by steaming, or passing a knife blade beneath the flap E, portions of the main body portion of the back will adhere to the Hap E rupturing a portion of the said main body portion intermediate adjacent cuts 9.

As a further means to prevent unauthor ized opening and resealing of the envelop, material designated by character 10, and indicated in Fig. 3 of the drawing may be farried by the Hap F at its face opposite to the adhesive 6, said material being of that nature to spread quickly when subjected to moisture, such as steam. The material may be anilin dye or indelible ink.

ln order that the envelop may be quickly opened without the use of an instrument, such as a knife, and without danger' of inj uring the contents of the envelop, the main body portion of the back may be provided wit-ha slot designated generally by character ll, said slot being disposed adjacent the point of convergence l2 of the free margins T and S of the flap, and extending next adjacent the said margins. In the example shown the slot 1l is. in reality, a plurality of alined slots 13, lel and l5. in the flaps B, C and D, respectively, the last-mentioned slot being more clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing.

ln Fig. l of the drawing, the walls of the envelop are shown exaggerated in thickness CIJ in order to disclose details, however, it is made manifest from an inspection of the drawing that if the envelop is slightly arcuated that portion of the iiap E at the point l2 of convergence of its free margins 7 and 8, together with those portions oi' C and D extending from the convex wall of the slots 14 and 15, will spring outwardly, together with that portion oi the Hap B extending from the convex wall of the slot 13, so that a person may pass the linger or thumb nail under such portions of the flap, rupturing the saine to gain access to the interior of the envelop. Il? the envelop is provided with a series of cuts 9, as herein before described, the envelop may be quickly opened, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, permitting ready access to the interior and enabling the operator to extract the contents 'from the envelop without difficulty.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention; but,

I claim:

l. An envelop comprising a frontv and back, said back including a main body and a flap provided with an adhesive inwardly from its free margins adapted to overlie the said main body of said back and be secured thereto by said adhesive to seal the envelop, the portion of the said main body of said back concealed by the said portion of said Hap carrying the adhesive, provided with a series of cuts extending cross-Wise "the general line or' the series of cuts, margins of said flap converging toward each other, and the said main body of said back provided with a slot adjacent the point of convergence of the said margins of said flap and following the lines of the same when the ilap is in a sealed position with respect to said main body.

Q. An envelop comprising in combination, a front and back, said back comprising two side flaps, a bottom flap and a top flap, said side and bottom flaps forming a main body of the back, and said top flap provided with an adhesive inwardly from its free margins, which margins converge toward each other, adapted to overlie the said main body of said back and be secured thereto by said adhesive to seal the envelop, the said main body of said back provided with a slot adjacent the point of convergence of said margins of said top flap and following the lines of the same when the flap is in a sealed position with respect to said main body, and said side flaps each provided at that portion concealed by the said portion of said top flap carrying the adhesive, with a series of cuts extending cross-wise the general line of the series of cuts.

JOHN J. MENDENHALL. 

